SW Climate Outlook Jan 2018 - Water Year To-Date (Oct 1 – Jan 15, 2018)

The year 2017 was record warm across most of Arizona and New Mexico, in no small part thanks to the exceptionally warm conditions during the final three months of the year (and November in particular).

These months were also very dry, with limited eastern Pacific tropical storm activity making its way into the Southwest during the fall and very little early winter precipitation, further exacerbating the dry conditions brought about by a relatively early end to the monsoon last summer.

Looking to a selection of weather stations in Arizona (below) and New Mexico (p. 7), water-year temperature and precipitation departure from normal since Oct. 1 demonstrate just how warm and dry conditions have been across the region.

Figures 1-3 - West Wide Drought Tracker - wrcc.dri.edu

Figures 4-7 - CLIMAS: Climate Assessment for the Southwest - climas.arizona.edu